30 October 2009

Introducing - Cast of the Capital

For me Cast of the Capital take me back to a time in mid-90's when I was still relatively youthful and care free, so when I heard their EP 'Rotten Kids and Haversacks' I was instantly hooked. Now I know that Bob didn't enjoy them as much as I did, but hey each to their own, there's pletny of stuff that we don't quite see eye to eye on, but the world would be a dull place if we all thought the same thing. Anyway, as per usual I am rambling.

Hailing from Aberdeen, Cast of the Capital can best be described as a sugary indie pop that just makes you want smile. Their recent EP contains 5 tracks, which were recorded and mixed in July 2009 by Robin Sutherland, (Dundee, UK) who has worked with the likes of Stapleton, Tellison and Jacob’s Stories. The tracks were then mastered by Dave Collins in Los Angeles. Steve from the band recetnly took some time out to answer a few questions for me...

Would you care to introduce yourselves?

Yeah, sure! My name is Steve Morris and I play bass guitar for Cast Of The Capital – an Aberdeen bases Indie Rock Band. Or maybe it is more Indie Pop, I don’t know! Somewhere between the two I think. I play alongside my brother Matt who writes the songs, sings and plays the guitar. We are joined by Ally Naylor who plays drums, and Jamie Watt on guitar. We’re all from Aberdeen and continue to live here, as it is rather nice!

How did you come up with the band name?

I am going to have to be clichéd here and say ‘it’s a secret’. The question is:why is it a secret?! I guess I don’t want to spoil the sense of mystery, ha!

What artists would you say have had the biggest influence on the band?

A good mix of Scottish and American bands. The Shins, Frightened Rabbit, Death Cab For Cutie, Stapleton and Rogue Wave have all been a huge inspiration. Not only their music, but they all seem like such nice people, and we dream of having a career similar to theirs! Each one of us is really into at least one of those bands. It’s pretty cool as we all have similar-ish tastes in music, but still different enough to make writing songs interesting.

Favourite venue (played/would like to play)?

I have had really fun gigs in Snafu (Aberdeen) and The Room (Inverness). The Dirty Hearts Club, which is held in Snafu in Aberdeen, always has a great vibe and usually gets great bands. I would love to play at the Barrowlands in Glasgow. Since we saw The Shins and Death Cab play there a number of years ago, it has been one of our all time ambitions to play there!!

Have you any plans to go ahead and make a full album?

We are starting to think about writing for an album. We are taking a little break from touring during the winter to focus on writing some new songs. Matt has some really exciting ideas for different types of songs – poppy ones, darker and more obscure ones. I think it will be difficult to decide on which songs to include and which direction to take the record, as a whole, in. But I am looking forward to it so much.

If the answer to the above is yes...Thenwould you be looking at doing this with Kittiwake?

It is genuinely really hard to answer that question! The chaps from Kittiwake are among the friendliest, most committed and enthusiastic people we have ever met. To have them show such a keen interest in our band is really great. The plan for the moment is to see how the EP gets on over the next wee while, and to see where next year takes us. But anything is possible!!

If you could support one band living/dead who it would be?

Living – I am not going to beat around the bush here. Death Cab For Cutie. I could mention other bands to try and disguise my obsession with them, but I don’t think it’d be right to hide the truth!!

Dead – Johnny Cash. I have only really begun to take a real interest in his music and career. But I definitely find him inspiring. I love reading about the old times – hitting the road in an old beat up van, finding little towns to play a rock show in, dressing in your finest dark and moody attire and taking to the town hall stage at night.

Are there any local bands you would recommend I check out?

Yeah sure! Local to Aberdeen – Indian Red Lopez. Those are some talented fellows indeed! Remind me a little of Radiohead. Local to Scotland – Trapped In Kansas, Pensioner and Barn Owl. We have been lucky enough to tour with a couple of them, and really hope to organise something with the others.

Where and when can we next see you playing live?

In Scotland you can catch us playing in Stirling Uni at night on the 5th November then in Snafu in Aberdeen on the 12th November. We are then hoping to add a couple more English shows to our schedule, around them time of our gig in Buffalo Bar in London.

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A massive thank you goes out to Steve for taking the time out to answer my rambling questions, you have a listen the lead track on their EP below, then go and buy it here.

Cast of the Capital have are on tour around the country form Thursday, check out their Myspace to see if they're playing anywhere near you. If not then you can always listen to them in session for Stirling Uni's Student Radio show 'Air3' this coming Thursday (5th Nov).